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Jiraiya turned his head.
Naruto had already disappeared into the shadows beneath the bright lights.
He exchanged a silent glance with Kakashi.
After a moment, Jiraiya looked up and issued orders: "Root members are to stay away from here and are not to probe."
"Two members of the Anbu... stay behind and keep watch at the door. No matter what happens, do not engage with Naruto."
"The rest of you, dismissed!"
Two Anbu members acknowledged and instantly appeared.
The others, along with the Root member, vanished immediately.
At the Hokage Building.
In the meeting room.
Three senior advisors, Nara Shikaku, the head of the Jonin squad, and a group of elite Jonin, including Might Guy, were all gathered.
The entire village was on high alert, nerves were tense.
They were waiting for a signal, or for two people to return.
Before long, the door was pushed open.
"There's really no need to be so nervous," Jiraiya said, with a cheerful smile, "Naruto harbors no hostility; he didn't come here to destroy the village. He's a good kid."
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
Danzo gritted his teeth and slammed the table in anger: "Nonsense! Jiraiya, is this your response to us?"
"To indulge the jinchuriki like this."
"What do you take Konoha for?"
"He comes and goes as he pleases?"
"To trample on the village's dignity like this, and you can still..."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as he looked at him: "Danzo-sama, I do have something to report to you."
He had always disliked this senior advisor.
Especially after... what happened with Naruto.
Danzo, with a stern expression, waved his hand.
"Naruto told me that if Konoha could hand you over to him, to be dealt with as he sees fit... he might consider it." Jiraiya said softly.
Everyone in the room was stunned.
Consider what?
Returning to Konoha? Or something else?
Danzo frowned. Was this a threat to him?
He scanned the room, his heart sinking further.
Many of the Jonin were actually pondering this.
"Jiraiya-sama, Danzo-sama," Nara Shikaku spoke, "We cannot deny that Naruto is a Konoha ninja."
This was both a reminder and a fact.
Given Konoha's current situation...
Isn't it true that they could only let Naruto come and go as he pleased?
What else could they do?
If anyone dared to curse Naruto here, would they have the courage to do so in front of him?
Koharu Utatane followed with a calm voice: "Enough, Danzo!"
"We have not given you permission to speak as a senior advisor again."
"Jiraiya, what is the purpose of the jinchuriki's return this time?"
Jiraiya replied, "It's for a young boy named Lee."
"His target is Lee?" Might Guy exclaimed.
"It's to treat Lee's illness," Jiraiya explained, his tone gentle, reassuring him, "Kakashi is keeping an eye on things over there, don't worry, nothing will happen."
Might Guy nodded; he still had faith in his friend.
"A Genin's illness is worth the jinchuriki rushing back?" Homura Mitokado pondered, "Could he have another purpose?"
Might Guy shook his head, his voice tinged with frustration, lacking its usual vigor: "Lee's condition... is very troublesome."
"Konoha currently lacks the power to heal him."
"Naruto visited once before; he was probably preparing for this at that time."
Koharu Utatane was surprised: "Even Konoha's medical ninjas can't help?"
In terms of the abilities and techniques of medical ninjas, Konoha was undoubtedly top-notch.
This was due to the "medical ninja" plan proposed by Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin.
Although it hadn't been fully implemented...
At the very least, Konoha had a relatively complete system for training medical ninjas.
"Lee overused forbidden techniques, causing bone fragments to embed in his nervous system," Might Guy clenched his fist, "Konoha's medical ninjas are powerless."
"They said..."
"Perhaps only if Tsunade-sama returns could he possibly be cured."
Tsunade, the woman who stands at the pinnacle of "medical ninja."
"Does a Jinchuriki have this capability?" Koharu Utatane inquired.
No one answered her.
Jiraiya frowned in thought.
If it were before...
He would have decisively given a negative answer.
The practice of medical ninjutsu is not something that can be accomplished overnight.
It requires a great deal of practice.
But...
With Naruto's talent and the power of the Nine-Tails, he now couldn't give a definite answer.
The atmosphere in the room grew silent, and no one spoke further.
Might Guy, after seeking permission from Jiraiya, headed towards the Konoha Hospital; he was worried about Lee.
When he arrived...
There was only Kakashi in Lee's hospital room.
"Where's Naruto?" Might Guy asked, looking around but not finding the familiar blond figure in the room.
Kakashi responded, "He has already left."
"How is Lee?" Might Guy's gaze fell on his disciple lying on the bed.
The bowl-cut boy's expression was peaceful, with a slight snore, as he slept.
This made him pause.
Lee... hadn't slept like this in a long time.
The damage to his body had forced him to sleep on his side.
Sleeping on his back would have been too painful for his spine.
"Naruto said the surgery was very successful." Kakashi walked over to the table and picked up a surgical tray. "These are the fragments that were removed from Lee's body."
It was filled with numerous tiny pieces of debris.
The smallest was less than half the size of a sesame seed, while the largest was as big as a fingernail.
These were the very bone fragments that the Konoha medical ninja had diagnosed as being embedded in his nerves.
"I wanted to have the doctor come in to check." Kakashi continued, "But Lee seemed too exhausted and fell asleep right after the surgery."
"However, before he went to sleep, Naruto helped him up to check his condition. He can now walk without crutches, and his back is straight."
"It seems he has been healed."
"So, I didn't disturb his rest."
Might Guy collapsed into a nearby chair as if all his strength had suddenly drained away. "That's wonderful."
"We'll check him again when he wakes up, just to confirm the situation."
Although he said this...
He was no longer as tense.
Looking at the surgical tray filled with those blood-stained fragments, he couldn't suppress a foolish grin that kept spreading across his face.
With these fragments removed, Lee's current condition...
It was almost certain that he had been completely healed.
The reason he still wanted a medical ninja to check again was just to be sure, just to turn a "probable outcome" into a "definitive result."
"Naruto left so quickly; I should have properly thanked him," Might Guy said as he lifted his head, gazing tenderly at Lee.
Kakashi didn't say anything, his gaze also fixed on Lee.
But his thoughts were not on the bowl-cut boy.
Instead, they were on the just-departed Naruto.
He seemed completely indifferent to the fact that he had only recently severed ties with Konoha.
If he wanted to visit someone he cared about, he would return; once the visit was over, he would leave.
He treated Konoha as if it were "air."
Before Lee was treated, Kakashi had felt guilty towards Naruto, but there was also a part of him that thought... Naruto had abandoned his comrades.
But had he really abandoned them?
If he had truly abandoned them, he wouldn't have come back to heal Lee.
At this moment, Kakashi recalled the words he had spoken to Naruto during the first mission with Team 7.
"Why force yourself to accept those who do not accept you?"
So...
In his eyes, comrades are comrades, and the village is the village?
Kakashi tilted his head slightly, glancing at Might Guy.
The larger bowl-cut was still grinning foolishly.
He thought...
If he were a rogue ninja, as long as he wasn't in conflict with Konoha, if he encountered danger, Might Guy would surely come to his rescue.
Kakashi sighed.
Naruto really is carefree.
But how can he be so carefree?
~~~
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